Il Vangelo secondo Matteo is a 1964 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. It proved to be one of his most popular with both critics and the public.
The film depicts the life of Jesus through the Marxist-Catholic perspective of the director, though he himself was an atheist. It remains one of the more faithful cinematic adaptations of any biblical book as Pasolini felt that "images could never reach the poetic heights of the text." He reportedly choose Matthew over the other gospels because he had decided that "John was too mystical, Mark too vulgar, and Luke too sentimental."
The film was widely touted in Italy, which was especially ironic since Pasolini had previously been sentenced to jail for the allegedly blasphemous and obscene content of his contribution to the anthology film RoGoPaG. It was released in the United States in 1966 and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Art Direction, Costume Design, and Score.
Unlike many biblical films, Matthew is noted for its sense of authenticity. All of the actors are amateurs: mainly locals from Matera, Italy, where the film was shot (though Pasolini had originally intended to shoot it in Isreal.)
The score (selected by Pasolini himself) is quite eclectic, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Billie Holiday.
Source
- Bart Testa, "To Film a Gospel ... and Advent of the Theoretical Stranger," in Patrick Rumble and Bart Testa (eds.), Pier Paolo Pasolini: Contemporary Perspectives. University of Toronto Press, Inc., 1994, pp. 180-209. ISBN 0802077374.